This invention relates to a culture dish that can serve as a bioreactor for supporting and feeding living tissue.
Culture dishes may have a well-defining base for holding nutrients, a dish with a bottom wall having a thin membrane that rests in the well and on which there are biological materials, and a solid cover over the well and the dish.
An embodiment of a bioreactor includes a base that defines a well, a dish supported over the well for holding biological material, and a lid over the well and the dish. The lid includes at least one sealing opening for introducing or removing material from the well or the dish and for pressure relief. The well can be used to hold nutrients, while the dish has a membrane in contact with the nutrients. The lid preferably has at least two sealable openings, with one over the dish, and the other over a portion of the well and not over the dish for introducing and/or removing material from the dish and the well. The lid preferably includes at least one gas permeable membrane for venting. A solid cover can be provided over the lid, such as for storage or shipping. The openings are preferably each a septum that has a slit or multiple slits, such as in an x-shape, to help seal about a syringe or pipette or other suitably sized delivery nozzle.
The embodiments of the present invention allow for convenient external access to the contents in different portions of the bioreactor without requiring removal of the lid. Such accessibility can reduce risks of contamination and make the system less labor intensive and more amenable to automation. Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims.